Tony Billetter, formerly Apple’s head of worldwide business strategy and planning for video and sports, has taken on a similar role at Venu Sports, the recently formed joint venture of Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery.
With the move, Billetter rejoins Pete Distad, CEO of Venu, who had previously overseen Apple TV+’s business, operations and global distribution and worked at the tech giant for a decade.
Billetter worked at Apple since December 2017 before leaving to start at L.A.-based Venu last month, according to his linkedIn profile. A rep for Venu Sports confirmed Billetter’s hire. Prior to Apple, Billetter worked at Disney for more than 10 years, where his roles included director of strategic planning for WaltDisneyStudios. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from San Francisco State University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Disney, Fox and WBD announced Venu Sports as the name of the venture last week. Another key hire for the three-way JV is Jessica Casano-Antonellis, most recently SVP and head of communications at SiriusXM and former head of PR for Disney’s streaming group.
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The three parents of Venu Sports, which unveiled the JV in February, have targeted a fall 2024 launch for the streaming-sports bundle. The service will combine ESPN+ with their linear TV networks that carry sports programming: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV. Pricing and a specific launch date haven’t been announced.
According to Venu (pronounced “venue”), the streaming bundle’s launch is still conditional on receiving regulatory approval as well as the “finalization of definitive agreements amongst the parties.” The JV is operated by Rookie Enterprises LLC, a subsidiary of Fox Corp.
If it clears those hurdles, Venu will be made available directly to consumers via a new app, the companies said. Subscribers will also have the ability to purchase it in a bundle, including with Disney+, Hulu or Max.
